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ANDICAM

ANDICAM (A Novel Dual Imaging CAMera)

The ANDICAM instrument at the 1.3-m CTIO telescope has been in regular operations since February 2003 by the SMARTS Consortium. Previously, it had been operated in queue mode on the 1.0-m (YALO Consortium) with the optical detector since the 1998B semester. The IR array was installed in July 1999, enabling simultaneous optical and infrared imaging, including dithering in the IR channel while the optical channel integrates. ANDICAM was constructed by the Ohio State astronomical instrumentation group led by Darren DePoy and its construction was funded in part by the National Science Foundation.

ANDICAM takes simultaneous optical and infrared data by using a dichroic with a CCD and a HgCdTe array. A moveable mirror allows dithering in the IR while an optical exposure is going on. The primary purpose of the instrument is for microlensing event follow-up to look for the presence of planets and other anomalous behaviour. ANDICAM is operated by the Prospero control software. It also has a twin--DANDICAM (Dutch ANDICAM)--that is used on a 1m telescope in South Africa. With ANDICAM one can obtain UBVRIJHK photometry within a 6 arcmin (optical) or 1 arcmin (near-IR) field.